Vault of Vytal
by ChiefD3m0n1c
Summary: The rewrite of Vault of Vytal. Nearly a year after the fall of Handsome Jack, the Vault Key has transported the Vault Hunters to a new world, Remnant. Now with the help of Team RWBY, they have to find a way back to Pandora... but dark alien forces work in the shadows against them. Rated M for violence, language and adult situations.
1. Chapter 1

Hello all readers, both old and new! I'm glad you're all giving the new Vault of Vytal a chance. I'm sure that everyone can enjoy it. Well, here we go on an adventure!

Chapter 1: Transported

On Pandora, it had been nearly a year since the fall of Handsome Jack at the hands of the Vault Hunters. During that time, the Vault Hunters kept themselves busy. Dealing with pirates out in the desert, fighting in an illegal death match to open a Vault, taking on a crazed Hyperion scientist and even planned on blowing up the Hyperion Space Station, Helios. Which is where our story begins…

Lilith paced around the holo-table in the Crimson Raider HQ, looking over the plans for the space station. They needed to be able to get in, find the power station and blow it to hell while still being able to get out. Around the room sat the Vault Hunters responsible for ending the reign of Handsome Jack, the twisted monster that murdered so many innocent lives because he thought they were bandits.

The first was Axton the Commando. Come to Pandora for the search of glory, after he was sentenced to death by firing squad by his commanding officer… who was also his wife. He was a tall man, standing at 5'10" with dark brown hair that was slicked back, but with a few strands sticking up in the front. He wore a brown shirt that was beat to hell, but still managed to function as a shirt. He also wore his green, military cargo pants that were just as equally beat to hell but still functional. His boots were standard issue somewhat brown due to the amount of wear and tear.

He had a weapons harness with a backpack and a shoulder mounted camera, standard issue but now modified so the Dahl Military couldn't observe his movements. He still had his military rank above his right eye, can't really remove it since it was grafted into his skin. He had a chiseled jaw line, a very handsome man who was also very fit. Wasn't hard to stay in shape when you were constantly fighting for your life.

Next was Maya the Siren. She was one of six mystical and powerful women in the entire universe, able to bend the laws of reality to a certain degree. She had short blue hair with deep azure eyes, perfectly complimenting each other. She had a curvy figure, which was only made more obvious with the yellow body suit she wore with the right arm having a black sleeve with no left sleeve. She wore black cargo pants with black combat boots, the basic look for Pandora. What really made her stand out were the crazy blue tattoos that flowed around her arm, and also on her exposed left hip so it was inferred that they covered her left side of her body.

She had a look of confidence on her face, almost always a constant smirk on her face. Why wouldn't she be confident? She was one of the most powerful women on Pandora.

The third was Salvador the Gunzerker, and the shortest of the six Vault Hunters. He was only about 4'6" and heavily built, his orange t-shirt seeming like it was about to tear the second he flexed. He had tanned skin with spikey blue hair and beard with a constant grin on his face. He wore cowboy boots with spurs to complete his look. Salvador was Pandoran born, a native to the madness and chaos that was this hell hole. He enjoyed what he did, killing bandits and tearing Hyperion apart. To him… it was all fun and games.

Next was Zer0 the Assassin, the most mysterious of the Vault Hunters. He was a tall and lanky man, standing at 6' tall with long, skinny arms. He wore a black body suit with a grey chest and underarms. He always wore a helmet with a visor as the face plate. The helmet would display his usual feelings with emojis, but it usually showed the number 0 when he killed something. His head was skinny and tall to match the rest of his body… but he also only had four fingers. Zer0 would use his digistruct katana to slice through his enemies, or use a sniper rifle to blow them away at a distance.

After him was Gaige the Mechromancer, the youngest of the Vault Hunters. Standing a bit over Salvador at 5' with dull orange hair that was tied into two pigtails. She wore a red shirt with a skull on the front with a jean jacket. She wore a red skirt with black and white stockings and red and white sneakers. Gaige wore a pair of goggles on her forehead with a Band-Aid on her right cheek. She wore a work belt that had several mechanical tools as well as a piston.

The biggest stand out for Gaige was her left arm was almost completely mechanical. It started halfway down from her shoulder and the rest was metal. The purpose of her mechanical arm was to house the control rod for her mechanical masterpiece, Deathtrap or DT. She could summon her bot from digistruct space, and was meant to originally be an anti-bullying device. Unfortunately, that didn't quite work out when DT killed her high school rival, Marcy Holloway.

Thanks to her father, she was able to get away and get off world.

The final Vault Hunter was the largest, Krieg the Psycho. He was a heavily built man, looking almost like a human drumstick. He wore orange prison pants that were cut, torn, dirtied and blood stained with black combat boots that were in the same, ragged condition. He had a metal armbrace on his left arm that covered his forearm and knuckles with bolts sticking out of the top. His right arm was bandaged from his wrist to his bicep.

He wore a psycho mask, but it was heavily modified. Only his left eye was open, the right eye covered with an eyepatch with a single gas mask filter that was also on the right. He wore a harness that was used to hold his psycho buzz saw axe, which was also covered in blood and gore. He was completely bald, probably due to the cause of him losing his mind. His head would occasionally twitch, mainly since there were two voices occupying his head.

All of them were sitting and waiting for the plan to attack Helios, all of them itching to get back to work. They had a few small missions, a bit different than their usual missions. Dealing with a giant pumpkin monster, a massive snowman that froze a town, trying to end a family feud with a marriage and fighting a massive crab monster were on that list.

"Alright… we've got the way in… but no way out." Lilith questioned as she paced around the table. She wanted to tear down Hyperion after they killed her boyfriend, well, ex-boyfriend but still. Hyperion needed to pay for what they did to her, to her friends and to Pandora.

"What about having a shuttle on standby? Have one person waiting in the hanger while the others make the assault?" Gaige suggested. She knew it was a long shot. In order for them to blow up Helios, they would have to set a charge without it being defused, manage to fight off the Hyperion forces and get out alive.

"I think we'd need more than just one. At this rate, we'll need the entire force of the Crimson Raiders to pull this off." Axton pointed out. He knew military tactics, and just the Vault Hunters, plus Lilith, Mordecai and Brick. Helios was heavily guarded, and was Hyperion's foothold on Pandora so they weren't going to give it up easily.

"Ugh… this is turning out to be a lot bigger plan than originally planned. I need a drink." Lilith grumbled as she headed for the door. She was developing a massive headache from all this planning, which ultimately fell through almost every single time. One of Moxxi's Special Brew should be enough for her to relax.

"We will remain here. We will continue planning. Enjoy your drink, Lil." Zer0 stated in his usual haiku manner. He always spoke in haiku, it kept him secretive and cryptic. He didn't want anyone to learn a thing about him, so he did everything he could to stop that. Lilith simply waved and left, leaving the Vault Hunters alone in the planning room. Maya paced around the room, stopping in front of the Vault Key and watching it spin.

They took the key from the Vault of the Warrior after they killed Handsome Jack, and it now stayed in a stasis field under the protection of the Crimson Raiders.

"I still can't believe there are hundreds of Vaults out there. Can you imagine how much knowledge could be there?" Maya questioned as she inspected the eridium veins of the key. Eridium was the strange alien element that flowed through Pandora, the element that made Hyperion rich and gave Jack the chance to rise to power. It was also used to charge the key faster than its normal 200 year charging period, at the cost of a Siren's life, but only ones that connected with Eridium.

"I bet there's so much cool stuff in the Vaults!" Salvador cheered. He wanted to join Brick on his quest for Vault Hunting, since he caused dibs on hunting all the Vaults. Vault Hunting was fun, and Salvador wanted in on that fun.

"WE SHALL SURF THE BLACK SEA AND SEEK THE LOST ONE'S GOODS!" Krieg bellowed, standing with his arms in the air and leaned back, shouting his words to Helios itself. Krieg was… special. His mind was broken from Hyperion's experiments, the only thing that was left of his former self was his inner voice. It was the one thing that kept him from becoming a full blown psycho and killing everyone. Inner Krieg had a bit of control over Krieg, swearing that he would turn their axe on him and kill them if they ever hurt anyone innocent.

"First we need to figure out how to take on our biggest threat. Helios is still staring at Pandora with that moonshot cannon. Then we can handle the Vaults." Axton chuckled as he stood up and stretched. His legs were tired and his ass was sore from sitting all day and listening to plan after plan after plan. Maya continued inspecting the key when she noticed the purple eridium start to turn black.

"What the…" Maya gasped a bit as the veins turned completely black. All of the other Vault Hunters stood up as the Vault Key stopped rotating, freezing in place as a dark aura started to envelope the key. Before anyone could do anything, including call for help, the aura expanded into a bubble that encompassed the entire room. All of the Vault Hunters were frozen in place as a feeling of dread filled them, leaving them cold and almost hopeless. The next thing they knew… their vision started to darken, almost like they were passing out.

All of them felt weightless… almost lifeless… for an uncomfortable amount of time. They were all sure they were dead… at least until they felt solid ground underneath them. Zer0, Maya and Axton were on their backs while Gaige, Salvador and Krieg were on their stomachs. All of them felt the dread and cold leave their bodies, replaced by the warmth of the area they were in. Wherever they were, it was a clear night that was filled with stars, lying in a field of grass with a few sparse trees.

"Hey guys… I don't think we're on Pandora anymore." Axton pointed out with a sigh. He stared up at the, honestly, beautiful night when he noticed a few things about the sky. One, there was no Helios staring them down since no matter where you went it was staring you down. Two, the moon was completely different than they were used to. Elpis was no longer where it was supposed to be… or it had exploded while they were passed out.

A large chunk of the moon was blasted away, pieces of it floating around near it. Maya and Zer0 spotted it as everyone else started to get up.

"What the fuck!?" Maya barked as she shot up, jumping to her feet and spinning around, trying to get a bearing on where she was. Zer0 merely sat up and crossed his legs, scanning his surroundings in a less panicked, more analytic method. From what both of them could see, they weren't on Pandora anymore since this new place was full of life. Everyone started checking themselves, seeing they still had all of their weapons on them, and their digistruct packs were still operational. Maya took a deep breath and calmed herself as she pulled out her ECHO device, the primary communication, both phone and internet, in their galaxy.

"I'm going to try and call Lilith." Maya stated as she found Lilith's number. She hit the dial button, but there was no dial tone… just dead silence. Maya pulled her ECHO away from her face and tried again, getting only silence once more. Maya announced "I got no signal to Lilith. Nothing, absolutely nothing."

"Okay, that's weird." Salvador pointed out. Axton, Maya and Salvador started discussing what the next move was as Gaige basically spun in place to look around the area. The field they were in was beautiful, the stars shone brightly, the air was warm and pleasant and she felt at utter peace here. But that didn't last long as Gaige spotted a large column of smoke as well as a light on the horizon.

"Hey guys, are you seeing that?" Gaige questioned to the two that were listening. Krieg and Zer0 turned to see the same column of smoke. Gaige turned to the three planning and called "Hey! Do you see this?"

"Hang on Gaige, we're trying to figure this out." Axton called as he held up a finger to Gaige. She huffed and turned back, watching the smoke rise.

Zer0 decided that he was done sitting around and stood up, walking towards the smoke. At the least, there would be something interesting to do.

" _Zer0 is leaving. We should probably follow him to provide some kind of backup."_ Inner Krieg pointed out. The least he could do was try and guide Psycho Krieg in the right direction. Krieg started shambling behind Zer0, his buzz saw dragging behind him.

"Guys!" Zer0 and Krieg are leaving!" Gaige shouted as the polar opposite couple went towards the light. The three saw them walking away, and decided to follow since they really didn't have a plan. The group started sprinting, getting closer to the source of the smoke and the light, finding it to be a town that was burning to the ground. They could hear the sounds of gunfire and the howls of monsters.

"Finally! Some action!" Salvador cheered as he pulled out a Vladof spin gun and a Bandit SMG. He charged in with a mighty cheer. He was bored and this was the best chance he could get at getting some real fun. He leapt over a fence that was crushed a few feet away, looking like it was torn apart by some large beast. He ran through two destroyed buildings to find the street with a few bodies, as well as two large black monsters. They were bigger than Krieg, just about 7 feet tall and looked like werewolves.

They had weird skulls over their heads with red markings and piercing red eyes that glowed with hatred and rage. There were white spikes coming out of its back and arms with white claws. The two creatures roared at him with rage and charged him without a second thought, Salvador smirking as he lowered his weapons. He started unloading rounds, tearing the creatures apart like they were paper, his smile disappearing into a frown as the creatures started to turn to smoke.

"What the fuck!? That was too easy!" Salvador cursed as he lowered his weapons. The creatures back on Pandora were much more of a challenge, taking a lot more shots before going down… even landing a few shots on them. The rest of the Vault Hunters filled the street, weapons at the ready to see the carnage.

"What the hell did all of this?" Aton questioned as he looked over the people that were mauled to death.

"Some weird werewolf things. Weak though, almost like paper. Then they turned to smoke."

"Shit. Well, we should probably spread out. From what I can hear, there's some kind of defense going on. Split up and search for survivors. Then maybe someone can tell us where the hell we are." Axton ordered as he checked his magazine. Everyone nodded and spread out, keeping an eye out for anyone that was still alive. Axton headed for the largest collection of gunfire, probably also finding the largest amount of these weird werewolves. It wasn't long before Axton found the obvious evacuation point, several civilians running for some weird looking plane that was on the ground and surrounded by barricades.

There were a large number of the werewolves that Salvador mentioned, but also a few bear looking monsters. They looked similar to the wolves, only these things were the size of a bandit technical with large white plates on the back as well as spikes, like they were made out of bone. There weren't a ton of soldiers left defending the barricades, only half a dozen while the creatures pushed them. Axton aimed his Dahl assault rifle and started pushing through the enemies, tossing out a few of his bouncing betty grenades to cut through them. His three round burst tore through the creatures easily, while the grenades he through bounced on the ground, spinning and firing smaller caliber rounds that cut into the creatures.

He was at the barricade in no time, taking a defensive position and unloading rounds into the other creatures.

"Thank Dust you're here buddy. Weren't sure if we could hold this position much longer. Those are some pretty sweet weapons you got there." The guy next to Axton announced as they took shots, keeping the beasts back.

"Dahl, baby. When you need reliability and power." Axton replied with a chuckle. He could see the creatures were starting to push forward again, and they weren't going to be stopping until they were on top of them. Axton chuckled as he pulled out his digistruct packs that held his weapons "Wait until you get a load of these then."

He tossed both turrets out, both of them digistructing with shields and rocket pods on the sides with twin barrels. The weapons started to unload into the creatures, blasting them to pieces with rockets while the twin barrels barraged them with bullets.

"Holy shit! I need a few of those!" The guy cheered as he reloaded his weapons.

"Too bad the price tag is a bit high. So, any more survivors? A search party?" Axton questioned.

"There's a team here from Beacon Academy. They're searching for the last few survivors before coming back here."

"Academy? You've got kids doing this shit?"

"Hey, they signed up for it."

At that point, Salvador came running from between buildings with his guns blazing and a loud cheer as he killed the creatures.

"I… who is that?" The man questioned.

"That is my buddy." Axton chuckled as he reloaded his rifle.

O00000O00000O

Gaige ran through the burning town with a Maliwan fire SMG out, ready out start blasting at a moment's notice. She already ran into a few of the werewolf monsters and they were pretty easy to dispatch, about half a mag took care of the beasts as they were cooked alive. Most of the buildings were pretty destroyed, torn apart by the black furred monsters. Gaige was about to turn back when she started hearing the sound of a high powered rifle going off. She doubled her pace until she found a clearing that was full of the werewolves and even a few massive bear monsters.

At the center was a girl about Gaige's size wearing, what looked like, a gothic red riding hood look wielding a massive red and black scythe that was practically twice her size. Gaige took a knee and started spraying into the monster crowd, counting at least 15 wolf monsters and 3 bears. All of her rounds connected with the monsters lighting a few of the wolves on fire, but none of the bears started to burn. The other girl took the opportunity of divided interest and pointed the top of her rifle at a wolf creature.

That's when Gaige noticed that the top of her scythe… was a barrel. She fired the weapon and the loud crack of the rifle went off, taking the head off of a werewolf creature. Gaige swapped her weapons, opting for the Vladof Shock assault rifle instead of reloading. She pulled the trigger and started unloading rounds as she started stepping back as the beasts started advancing on her. Luckily the beasts would keep back from her since she was spraying bullets. Gaige knew that once she ran out of bullets, they would rush her.

Luckily, attention was diverted from her as the girl pointed the barrel behind her and fired a round. The blast propelled her forward into a wolf creature, swinging her massive blade and cleaving the creature in half. She kept going, sliding as she hit the ground and swung again, taking another wolf's legs off at the thighs. She started to get closer and Gaige was able to get a better look at her. She had short dark red hair with pale skin and sliver eyes.

She was also moving so fast Gaige was barely able to keep up with her, and the weird thing is when Gaige would lose her, there was a trail of rose petals following her.

Gaige's attention was pulled from the girl when her gun finally clicked empty, signaling that the monsters were about to attack. She looked up to see a wolf monster lunging at her with its claws raised, ready to tear her to shreds. Luckily, Gaige was able to roll to the side and dodge the claws, then slashed back with her own, thanks to her With Claws skill. The beast howled in pain, giving Gaige enough time to summon Deathtrap. The original Deathtrap looked like it was kinda built from scrap metal and stood as tall as Krieg, but twice as wide.

Deathtrap levitated thanks to an anti-gravity generator built into the bottom of the chassis. He had one larger arm than the other, mainly for the heavier striking. But now, Deathtrap looked a lot more sinister with a dark red light emanating from his chest with chains wrapped around his chest with a skull for a head and a large spike coming out of the top. There were bladed claws on his fingers, making him look that much more menacing. Deathtrap rose from the ground, grabbing the wolf creature by the throat and slamming its other claws into the beast's stomach.

"Don't mess with my bot, suckas!" Gaige cheered as she reloaded her SMG. Gaige looked around to see Red flying around the battlefield, slicing three more wolves apart with ease. Once Gaige was reloaded, she started blasting the wolf beasts again, taking a few of them as Deathtrap targeted the bear creatures. Gaige saw Deathtrap actually drive his claws into the bear and actually throw it into another one. With the combined three of them, the group of beasts were cut down pretty quickly.

Gaige and Red both reloaded as Deathtrap digistructed away, both keeping their weapons out.

"Hi there. Thanks for the help. I'm Ruby." Red greeted with a hand outstretched, the other putting her weapon away in the small of her back.

"Anytime. I'm Gaige." Gaige replied as she put her own weapon away. "That's a pretty sweet weapon you have there. What is it? Scythe combined with a high powered sniper rifle?"

"Yeah! Her name is Crescent Rose. So, what about your giant robot?"

"That's Deathtrap. Built him myself, along with his control rod that's built into this arm." Gaige pointed out as she showed off her mechanical arm to Ruby. She saw Rub's eyes go a bit wide as she reached out and caressed the arm.

"Wow… that's so cool… who designed it?" Ruby questioned as she ogled the arm. The design was amazing to have a control rod integrated into a mechanical arm while still being able to control motor functions."

"Me. I also performed the surgery to attach the arm." Gaige answered with a bit of pride in her voice. The fact that she was able to remove her arm and attach a new, mechanical one all while in her Dad's shed in the backyard was pretty impressive.

"Wow! That's so cool!"

"Yeah, your skills are pretty cool too. How do you-"Gaige started to question when a burning building started to collapse in on itself, making a large crashing sound that caused the two of them to jump. They looked around, both drawing their weapons and getting ready for a fight.

"So… we should be getting back to the airship." Ruby pointed out, keeping Crescent Rose ready. "I couldn't find any survivors in this area."

"Yeah, let's head back." Gaige agreed as she looked around.

Ruby took the lead, Gaige following as they went back to the airship for evacuation.

O00000O00000O

Zer0 slipped through the town, jumping from shadow to shadow, building to building to remain unseen. There wasn't much left of the town, with a few buildings torn apart and others burning down from fires being unattended. There were bodies lying in the street, a sad sight that Zer0 was all too familiar with thanks to Handsome Jack and other atrocities he had seen. He could hear gunfire from a small weapons going off close by, so he was investigating with his Jakobs sniper rifle drawn. Once the gunfire was starting to get clearer, he knelt down and slid quietly through the ruins and spotted the source of the sound.

There was a girl dressed in mostly black fighting off four of the wolf monsters that Salvador had mentioned. She was tall, at least 6 foot with black hair that fell past her elbows wearing a white blouse with a black vest. She was also wearing black short shorts and dark purple stockings that left a decent amount of her thighs, which showed her pale skin. She had ribbons tied around her wrists as well as a bow on the top of her head. Zer0 peered down his scope and saw that she had yellowish orange eyes… almost like they were small spheres of amber.

He observed her movements as she dodged the swipes of the werewolves. She moved like water, smooth and fluid as she swung the katana and sliced at the wolf that tried to claw at her. He pulled himself away from her to see another wolf going at her while she was distracted. He quickly found his mark and pulled the trigger, the sniper cracking in the relative silence. Zer0 was an excellent shot, finding his mark through two ruined buildings and still managing to send his bullet into the skull of the beast.

The girl continued through the attack and blocked the next attack with her blade, pushing the beast off. He saw the blade swing back and lock, revealing a pistol barrel assembly. She started putting rounds into the beast, Zer0 saw holes being punched through. He also spotted the next wolf going after her, so he took another shot and punched a massive hole in the wolf's chest. He saw her squaring off with the last wolf, so he lowered his rifle and started moving to the fight.

He watched her slide around the attacks, and actually noted her pull a disappearing act a few times. She would jump back when an attack got close, leaving behind an illusionary clone of herself to take the hit, a bit like his Deception ability. She ended up slipping behind the beast and drove her blade into the back of the wolf's neck, killing it. Zer0 stepped between the broken pieces of house, but the girl still spun around, ripping her blade from the beast as it turned to spoke and pointed her blade at him. Zer0 tilted his head a bit, amazed that she could hear him approach her, since he was the stealthiest of all the Vault Hunters.

Then again, that wasn't exactly saying a whole lot.

The girl relaxed her stance, lowering her weapon as Zer0 showed off the sniper rifle that he used to kill the beasts.

"Nice shots. I'm Blake." The girl introduced as she sheathed her blade. Zer0 was able to note the finer features of her. She was well built, toned being the more appropriate word with a slim hourglass type of figure.

"Hello there, Ms. Blake. Thank you for the compliment. My name is Zer0." Zer0 responded as he looked at the dissolving corpses of the beasts.

"So, couldn't find any survivors. Most have probably made it to the airship… or worse." Blake stated as she refused to look at the corpses nearby. Zer0 nodded and took a step to the side, allowing Blake to lead the way. She took the lead at a brisk pace, Zer0 easily keeping up with her.

O00000O00000O

Maya ran through the ruins, hearing screams of help in the direction she was going. She already had her Maliwan Shock SMG out and ready for the fight. She had seen enough death and destruction on Pandora, she just wanted something nice to have now. She rounded a corner to see three large bear monsters cornering a girl in a white dress wielding a rapier that was defending a family, two parents and three kids. One of the bear monsters charged the girl with a mighty roar, the girl reacting by taking a strange pose and a snowflake-like glyph showed up between the two.

The beast slammed into the glyph like it had hit a wall, groaning/ roaring as it did. Unfortunately, one of the other bear beasts also charged her and she didn't look like she was going to be able to block that one too, so Maya acted. She raised her Siren arm, tattoos lighting up a bright blue and the bear was lifted from the ground, surrounded by a dark purple orb as the Pandoran elements started to tear it apart. The girl in white looked around in confusion until she spotted Maya, looking at her with a confused look.

"Get down!" Maya shouted as she swapped her SMG to her Maliwan Slag rocket launcher, aiming it at the last bear creature. The girl immediately dissipated her glyph and resummoned it between her and Maya as Maya fired the rocket, shielding them from the shrapnel. The bear roared in pain as it was coated in the eridium byproduct, making it more vulnerable to damage. Maya immediately grabbed her Maliwan Incendiary pistol from her hip and fired the three rounds, igniting the beast. It bellowed in agony as Maya swapped to her Dahl Caustic assault rifle, aiming at the beast that the girl had blocked.

The girl held her rapier ready, the blade starting to glow red, and started swinging it, lashes of fire slamming into the same bear that she was shooting at. The beast roared in pain from the fire and corrosion burning through its black flesh. The bear she had Phase Locked finally broke free, angered from being burned by fire and corrosion, electrocuted and slagged.

Maya swapped her weapon again to her SMG, unloading on the bear that was freed from the Phase Lock as it started to charge her. She rolled out of the way as the beast swiped at her, clawing the ground as it attempted to tear her apart. She unloaded the rest of the magazine into the bear, opting to reload instead of swapping weapons again. The bear turned and back handed her, throwing her past the third bear beast and at the feet of the girl in white. Maya shot to her feet and readied her weapon as the girl readied her rapier.

The three bear beasts circled them again, Maya hearing the people behind them whimper in fear. She raised her SMG and started spraying as the girl in white's rapier chamber started to rotate, the blade turning a light blue. She spun and drove the blade into the ground, creating an ice field that froze the bear monsters to the ground. Maya swapped her SMG for her rocket launcher and emptied the remaining rockets into the bear monsters, blasting them to pieces.

Both Maya and the girl sighed in relief that the fight was finally over, the family crying in happiness.

"Come on, we need to get to the airship." The girl in Weiss assured as she sheathed her rapier. "I'm Weiss, Weiss Schnee."

"Maya. Hopefully the others have made it to the… airship." Maya replied as she reloaded her rocket launcher.

Weiss nodded and they helped the family to their feet, and started making their way towards the airship.

O00000O00000O

Krieg shambled through the ruined town, crashing through some of the buildings looking for any survivors. He had ran into a few of the beasts, but their ferocity was nowhere close to his own.

" _Focus! We need to find survivors, get them somewhere safe."_ Krieg's inner voice spoke. He was doing his best to guide Krieg, but he had control so he generally did what he wanted. It generally worked for the both of them since they normally ended up killing bandits or creatures. But this wasn't Pandora, and they had no idea what to do or what was acceptable.

"I WILL FIND MY OWN WAY!" Krieg bellowed as he crashed through another burnt wall. He stumbled a bit, dropping his buzz saw, which looked like a baseball bat with a table saw blade jammed into the top. He picked it up when he noticed a person attempting to pull up a collapsed part of the roof. She was tall, about Maya's height with long, golden blonde hair. She wore black short shorts with a yellow shirt with a brown jacket. Krieg also noticed how she was very… curvy.

Krieg put his buzz saw on his back and went over to her, grabbing the roof with her and started lifting with her. Both of them growled as they lifted the roof, revealing a mother and her small child, at least two or three years old. The woman scrambled out and the two dropped the roof with a loud crash.

"Thanks for the help there." The girl thanked as she brushed herself off. She turned and looked Krieg up and down, thinking he looked… weird. "Wow… interesting attire. Very… post-apocalyptic."

"THANK YOU BRIGHT LADY!" Krieg bellowed, Yang wincing a bit at the volume.

"Someone's… loud. I'm Yang, by the way." Yang greeted as she held out her hand.

" _Okay, this is easy. Just say our name."_ Inner Krieg advised. He didn't know how Krieg was going to react, but the method he chose was a bit… unconventional.

Krieg grabbed Yang's hand and lifted her into the air so they were face to face.

"KRIEG!" He bellowed, a bit of Yang's hair blowing back at the force and volume.

Yang blinked a bit as Krieg let her go, checking her ears to ensure that she wasn't deaf.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Krieg. Find anyone on the way here?" Yang questioned.

"NO ONE BUT THE DARK ONES!" Krieg announced as he looked around. He was starting to get the feeling that they were being watched. He usually got the feeling whenever stalkers were around… and he was getting it now. He updated "WE ARE NOT ALONE!"

Sure enough, several wolf creatures ran from around the corner a little farther down the street. There were at least ten of them that slide to a stop, red eyes honing in on them.

Krieg pulled his buzz saw off of his back as Yang pushed her fists forward, two red shotgun shells flying from the yellow bracelets that looked a little bit more like vambracers. The wolf monsters howled and started charging them, closing distance quick. Krieg reached back and pulled out his Torgue shotgun, aiming it at the wolves and started blasting. The explosive shells started cutting through the beasts as if they were nothing, killing two and taking the arm off another. He also noted Yang started jabbing towards the beasts, sending Torgue-like blasts at the wolves.

Yang took out two more, plus the one that Krieg wounded. Krieg dropped his shotgun and readied his buzz saw, or as he called it… his Meat Bicycle. He rushed the charging monsters and slammed his Meat Bicycle into the lead beast's neck, taking its head clean off. He followed through with his swing, upper cutting it and slicing another wolf creature's head in half.

Yang pressed with him, driving a fist into a wolf creature's chest, then two shots to the stomach and a final uppercut to take the beast's head off. She spun to the side as another beast attempted to claw her, but she went with the spin and delivered a deadly hook to the side of the beast's head, firing a round from her shotgun gauntlet and blasted its head off.

The two of them went against the last one together, and a bit brutally to add. Krieg caught the arms of the beast while Yang swept its feet. Together, they started to pull in opposite directions until the beast was ripped in half. Both of them took a deep breath and sighed, Yang going to the woman and her child to make sure they were okay.

" _Alright, we should probably head with them. No doubt the others have headed with Yang's friends."_ Inner Krieg explained. It seemed like the idea to go with, since they really didn't have any other options. Krieg walked over to Yang and the woman as she started to calm down.

"Well… thanks for the help. These two were the only ones in this area." Yang updated as she helped the woman to her feet. The woman was still a bit shaken, looking at Krieg nervously as he shambled over to his shotgun and picked it up. Yang questioned "So, where are you off to?"

"I WILL FOLLOW THE FLAME TO THE FRIENDLY ONES!" Krieg bellowed as he put his shotgun away.

Yang looked at him with a raised eyebrow, a bit confused on what he was actually saying. So far, the guy was a great fighter and super strong, but mentally he seemed like a big ass bag of crazy.

"So… you're coming with me?" Yang guessed.

"PRECISELY!"

"Well… I'm taking this woman and her child to the airship for evac. You're welcome to follow me there and meet your… friendly ones…"

"DEAL!"

Yang nodded, still unsure if working this guy was the safest option. She decided to let him follow and the group headed for the airship.

 **A/N:** Here you are, the first chapter of the new Vault of Vytal. Took a bit longer than expected to get the new chapter up… life hits fast. Just a reminder, all purchased chapters and characters will remain, and actually give them a bit more time to build character. Remember to give your thoughts in reviews and PMs, they contribute to the better building of the story and your constructive opinions are welcome. Until next time.

-Chief


	2. Chapter 2: A Whole New World

**A/N:** Glad to see that everyone is happy about the return of Vault of Vytal. I promise that this version will be better, easier to read and a little more… consistent.

Chapter 2: A Whole New World

The groups met up at the rally point, but talking wasn't on everyone's mind at the moment. Everyone was more determined on getting the civilians out of harm's way. Axton and Salvador were the stars of the airship defense, the dual turrets and gun toting dwarf were able to fend the massive horde off. Almost all of the civilians made it onto the airship, but there were always casualties when it came to fighting monsters like this. The large plane thing, or airship as it was called by everyone else, took off and they were headed for a city called Vale.

Axton stood on the observation deck, away from the massed huddled in the main area. There was only so much crying and moaning he could take. Granted, he didn't blame the people on crying and moaning, they had just dealt with a tragedy and they needed time to grieve. He watched the ground roll by, thinking that the view was amazing when he heard a female voice call him.

"Hey, soldier boy!" the voice called. He looked to his left to see the blonde girl the Krieg had found. She was a little shorter than he was, and really pushed his limits on women to hit on. She continued "So, ever had a view like this?"

"A few times, lots of high places on Pandora." Axton replied. There were a few places with this kind of look. The Bunker, the town of Overlook and Sanctuary when it was floating over the Highlands. "Never caught your name."

"Yang Xiao Long. And you?"

"Axton, Dahl Commando."

"What's Dahl?"

"Dahl was a military corporation that used to have claims on Pandora. I used to be a part of them… until I was ordered to a firing squad by my commanding officer." Axton sighed as he answered. He never liked dealing with his past, especially since it was a shitty past. Yang nodded and watched the ground roll by with him before he finally spoke again. "So… what kind of Academy lets kids go out and fight monsters?"

"Beacon Academy. You see what we deal with. Someone has to fight the monsters. You have anything to deal with the monsters of your world?" Yang responded and then questioned.

"Yeah, they're called mercenaries and soldiers. You're looking at one."

"Was business good?"

"Very good. Shoot monsters, bandits, corporate soldiers and everything in between." Axton chuckled. He looked around the room, spotting Zer0 at the front of the observation deck. He had no idea that he came in, but he was used to Zer0 always sneaking around without a sound. He went on "Mainly work, well, really part of, the Crimson Raiders. A group of people wanting to live peacefully on Pandora, including criminals, bandits and Atlas defectors. Good group, good people."

"Sounds… really fucked up." Yang responded. Krieg was already enough to deal with, but standing next to a mercenary that has no real limits? That was pushing hers. She leaned back and looked around, hoping for another person to be there just in case something were to happen. That's when she noticed Zer0. Yang questioned "When did he get here?"

"Who knows. He does that quite a bit. You stop getting surprised after a few times." Axton chuckled.

"That's creepy."

The doors to the observation deck opened and Blake strolled in with Ruby and Gaige in tow. The two red heads were talking shop about weapons, Ruby with Crescent Rose in her arms and Gaige holding out her metal appendage. Blake simply went to Zer0's side and stood there quietly while the two went to the other side and continued talking about weapons.

"Well, those two have hit it off." Yang pointed out as she pointed a thumb at Ruby and Gaige.

"Yeah, Gaige is a metal head, and apparently Red Riding Hood is on the same page with her." Axton chuckled as he looked over his shoulder.

"Ruby, my sister."

"I see no family resemblance, but alright."

"Half-sisters, different moms but same dad. So, what's the story with your friends?"

"Well, Zer0 is an assassin that is looking for a challenge, that's all we really know." Axton answered, which was completely true. Zer0 never revealed anything about himself, even to them after working together for so long. "Gaige over there is wanted on her home planet of Eden-5 for murder. She can summon a large robot that can tear a person apart in seconds, originally an anti-bullying device turned deadly."

"Wow… maybe Ruby shouldn't hang out with her." Yang suggested as she looked back at the two as they chatted happily. Wanted for murder? Not the type of people Ruby should be hanging out with.

"She's fine. Gaige is a good kid, just a victim of poor circumstance and even poorer people." Axton assured. Gaige was exactly what he said; a good kid. She was kind, caring and protective; always stood up for the little guy in the world.

That's when Maya and her little friend in white strode in, both talking and chatting.

"Nice of you to join us!" Axton called out in a bit of a mocking tone.

Maya continued her conversation as she flipped Axton the bird, walking over to an unoccupied section of the observation deck. Krieg and Salvador followed suit, Salvador rubbing his left cheek a bit.

"Let me take a guess. Flirting with the survivors? Not a wise idea." Zer0 stated in his usual haiku fashion without turning around and seeing Salvador. In reality, he saw them enter through the reflection in the glass, but he never revealed his secrets.

"I tried to help some grieving individuals. They didn't care for my offer." Salvador answered. He was simply trying to help, but apparently this world was completely different from Pandora.

Weiss made a disgusted noise while Yang simply whistled and rolled her eyes.

"Well, now that everyone is here, why don't we have a sharing circle?" Ruby questioned as she turned towards everyone. Most shrugged and decided to join, Blake and Zer0 remaining in their original spots. Ruby went on "I'll start. I'm Ruby Rose, I'm sixteen, from Patch in Vale and attend Beacon Academy. I like fighting Grimm and cookies."

"Damn, couldn't sound more innocent, Red. Anyway, I'm Axton the Commando. I'm 30 and from Heironymous. I like shooting things and drinking." Axton introduced.

"Aren't you simple, Old Man." Yang chuckled before introducing herself. "Yang Xiao Long, Ruby's older sister. 18, and I like to fight and party."

"Maya, and I'm a Siren." Maya introduced. She was then cut off by Ruby.

"What's a Siren?" Ruby questioned, a bit confused by her title.

"A Siren is a mystical woman that has the ability to control the ebb and flow of the universe in one of six ways, and there are only six sirens in the entire universe." Maya answered.

"So, what kind of ways?"

"I can trap a foe in an orb of energy generated form the universe, as well as control the elements of fire and acid. It is known as Phase Lock. A friend of ours, Lilith, is able to enter and exit through different planes of reality, Phase Walk."

"Wow… that's cool."

"It is. Anyway, I'm also 30, and I like to read and fight."

"I AM KRIEG! DESTROYER OF THE DESERVING AND DEVOURER OF EVIL!" Krieg bellowed into the air as he pulled his Meat Bicycle from his back, roaring at the ceiling with open arms.

"He seems… stable. Should he be restrained?" Weiss questioned as she stared at the large man that seemed to always scream. She could easily see the blood stains on his pants and his weapon as well as all the scars and burns on his body.

"He's fine, amiga. He may be a bit loco, but he is good people." Salvador defended as he patted Krieg on the lower back. "I, am Salvador, a Gunzerker. I am 36, and I love to fight and drink!"

"It seems you all have a common interest. I am Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. I am 18, and enjoy reading and studying." Weiss introduced in a very regal fashion.

"Nerd." Axton chuckled.

"Princess." Gaige grumbled.

Weiss proceeded to shoot the two ice cold glares, but it didn't seem to faze either of them. The two had received all kinds of looks throughout their time, so no look could really affect them. The two stragglers finally decided to join, slipping to the group silently.

"Blake Belladonna. 18, and I enjoy reading." Blake introduced simply. She was a woman of few words, since that was all that she really needed.

"Zer0, Assassin." Zer0 answered simply. It was all that they needed to know; nothing more, and nothing less.

"Is… is that it?" Yang questioned, hoping to know a little bit more.

"Yes."

"Alright then."

"Hey Maya, want to take a look out the window? Great view." Axton chuckled. He knew there were only a few things Maya did not like, and one of them was heights.

"No! No… I'm fine. No need." Maya stammered as she panicked a bit.

"Is someone afraid of heights?" Yang questioned with a smirk. "Wow, you guys talk tough, but you're just like normal people. Well, most of you."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Salvador exclaimed, even though he barely came up to her chest.

"I'm saying there's a bit of a height requirement." Yang chuckled. The two began to argue, Salvador seriously while Yang did it jokingly. Zer0 and Blake slipped off again to the side of the observation deck, enjoying the degree of quiet they could have.

"So, you're an assassin?" Blake questioned, seeing if she could get any more out of him.

"Yes." Zer0 stated plainly.

"How many kills?"

"Many."

"Always with a sniper rifle?"

"Katana, sometimes."

Zer0 pulled his digistruct katana from his side, the blade materializing as he pulled it from its sheath. Blake nodded at the blade, impressed with the weapon, so she pulled her own weapon out to show him. Zer0 nodded at the weapon, impressed with the craftsmanship of it.

"Gambol Shroud. Katana and sheath can be used as a weapon, the katana has a built in pistol." Blake explained as she shifted her blade into the pistol form. Zer0 nodded, impressed further with the weapon than he was before. That's when the group joined them at the front of the observation deck as they started entering city limits.

"Well, our new alien friends, welcome to Vale, and soon… Beacon Academy." Ruby declared as the buildings started to roll beneath them.

 **A/N:** Apologies for the wait, life has been pretty busy. So here you are, chapter 2! PM or review with any thoughts comments or concerns. Until next time!

-Chief


	3. Chapter 3: A Shining Beacon

Heyo! Apologies for taking so long. Anyway, hopefully this next chapter will clear up any questions you may have.

Chapter 3: A Shining Beacon

Everyone watched the city came into view, and it started to bring back memories to the Vault Hunters. Maya thought of her home planet of Athenas, a simple… Siren fearing planet that she had grown up on under the watch of the Order of the Impending Storm. Granted, the Order was just using her to keep the planet under their thumb, but it was still her home. Axton thought of his own home world, growing up with his brother with a normal childhood. Gaige thought of Eden-5, and what her dad might be doing since she wasn't there to see it for herself.

Salvador thought about the attempted Hyperion city, Opportunity, and how he and his friends went on a rampage through the city, destroying Hyperion property and kill their combat personnel. It was a good time all around for him. Krieg and Zer0 didn't have much of an opinion of the city. Krieg because he couldn't really put a coherent thought together, and Zer0 because he had seen a hundred cities just like it, and left bodies at every single one.

"I gotta say, you girls are taking the news that we're aliens pretty well." Axton commented as he watched the buildings go by. It was a bit strange seeing a city at peace, especially when there was an entire world of monsters just itching to tear it all apart.

"Well, that's because we think you're full of shit." Yang chuckled as she stepped away from the observation glass.

"Wait, you think we're lying?"

"Well yeah. Dust doesn't work beyond Remnant's atmosphere."

"Plus, if you really were aliens, then a diplomatic envoy would have been sent." Weiss added.

"Or a scientific expedition." Blake chimed in.

Axton and Salvador exchanged looks of 'what the fuck' while Maya scratched her head.

"But Maya can literally distort the universe at a whim!" Gaige barked since she couldn't really believe they thought they were bullshitting.

"Easy, that's her semblance. She just has super cool tattoos." Ruby explained.

"And Krieg?"

"Super buff crazy dude." Yang replied.

"You're… you're seriously thinking we're full of shit."

Team RWBY basically shrugged it off and headed for the ship's quarters where their stuff was stored, giving the Vault Hunters a moment to talk amongst themselves.

"Alright, what's the plan?" Gaige questioned. She couldn't help but think about what scenario they could possibly be dealing with. One, they didn't believe them and they were all locked up for being crazy people. Or, they believed them and they would be locked up in some science lab and dissected. Gaige continued "Because I'm not exactly seeing a bright side."

"Alright… we'll wait and see what the verdict is. If it works in our favor, then we roll with it." Axton planned. He really wanted this plan to work, mainly because their options were severely limited.

"And if it doesn't?"

"Then we shoot our way out. Get out of the city… and figure it out from there."

"Great plan, amigo." Salvador scoffed sarcastically since it was a shit plan. But, it was really their only plan.

"No one surrender your weapons. Let's get through this together."

The Vault Hunters followed the intercom's instructions for getting off the airship, finding themselves before, what they all thought was, a massive castle. They would have blended in with the refugees that were getting off, except they were heavily armed to the teeth. Axton spotted several people in matching armor and helmets with assault rifles; soldiers. Axton kept his hand on his side arm as they started to push towards the castle, thinking that it was the place they should be going. Zer0 kept count on the number of soldiers they had passed, and all of those that had weapons.

They walked until they spotted Weiss talking with an older woman, both of them with smiles on their faces. The woman looked a bit older than Weiss, and had the same pure white hair and blue eyes, only she was wearing a military uniform. She had her hair in a bun with her left eye nearly covered from her bangs hanging down. She nodded and looked to the Vault Hunters, walking over to them with a large sense of purpose and confidence.

"Greetings. My name is Winter Schnee, second to General Ironwood. I'm here to escort you to him and Headmaster Ozpin." Winter introduced. She looked over all of them and thought the alien theory wasn't too far off since the only one that was close to normal was the man that stood before her. A dwarf, a behemoth, a woman with crazy tattoos, a child and a skinny man wearing a helmet were certainly alien.

"Really? Well, I'd like to escort you to dinner. Hi, Axton. I'm a commando." Axton smirked as he flirted, holding his hand out to her. She was a very good looking woman with a damn near perfect hourglass figure. Winter looked at his hand then to him, choosing to ignore the advance.

"Please, follow me." Winter exclaimed before holding out her hand to her side, gesturing for them to follow her. Axton pulled his hand back and simply followed Winter, not like it was hard with an ass like that in front of him. They entered the castle in some pretty impressive halls, pretty much ensuring that it was a castle. They walked, passing kids that were a bit older than Gaige, probably between 17 and 21.

"So, is this castle a school?" Maya questioned as she watched the kids pass by, seeing that they had weapons too.

"Yes, it is Beacon Academy. Where they train the best Huntsman and Huntresses in Vale." Winter answered. Beacon was good, but she was positive that Sanctuary Academy, Atlas' school, was far better.

"And they train to fight the smoke monsters?"

"Correct. The creatures of Grimm, or simply Grimm, are a constant threat."

Maya nodded as they arrived at an elevator. The door opening and they started to get in. Unfortunately, people of this planet seemed to be a bit thinner than those on Pandora since they had very little room inside the elevator. Krieg was the lost one in, choosing to stand directly in front of the door, that coupled with Salvador's wide size, it made the elevator a bit cramped. After a few minutes of an uncomfortable ride, they finally arrived in a large office with a massive desk sitting towards the back with a window that seemed to reach around half of the room overlooking the courtyard.

There were two men in the office that wore vastly different outfits. One was an older gentleman with long white hair and wire rim glasses that rested on the bridge of his nose. He wore a dark green coat over a light green vest with a white shirt underneath it all with dark green pants to match the jacket. He had a coffee mug in one hand and a cane in the other. The other man had to be General Ironwood, wearing a white suit with a blue vest underneath. He had a common military high and tight haircut, mainly black with the sides starting to gray.

"General Ironwood, Headmaster Ozpin. These are the Individuals that Team RWBY found during their mission." Winter updated as she saluted the General. He saluted back after standing up, looking over the visitors in the office.

"Thank you, Winter. So, who are you? And where are you from?" General Ironwood questioned. He hardly believed that they were from outer space, but their appearance was certainly alien.

"I'm Axton, the Commando. This is Maya the Siren, Salvador the Gunzerker, Zer0 the Assassin, Gaige the Mechromancer, and Krieg the Psycho. We're from Pandora." Axton introduced since he had done most of the talking anyway. Talking to the General brought back quite a few memories of his time at Dahl.

"And where exactly is Pandora?" Headmaster Ozpin questioned before taking a sip from his mug. He noted that all of the visitors were extremely tense, fidgety, and nervous with their hands dangerously close to their weapons. He stood up and went to the side table where he made his coffee and tea, two separate machines. He questioned "Coffee? Tea?"

"I would love a cup. Coffee, black." Axton sighed since a nice cup of coffee sounded wonderful.

"Tea for me." Maya responded.

"Coffee, one cream three sugars." Gaige chuckled since it was the only thing they had been offered to drink. Salvador decided to be the one to answer the question.

"Pandora, from our guess, is far, far away from here. Probably a whole galaxy away." Salvador replied. "No one's heard of Dahl or Hyperion."

"Far from Pandora, far from the corporations." Zer0 added. "We are far from home."

"A NEW WORLD MEANS A NEW ADVENTURE!" Krieg bellowed, leaning back and holding his arms out. Winter and Ironwood jumped a bit at the sudden volume increase, looking at everyone that didn't jump with confused looks. The three that got drinks brought their mugs to their faces and sipped with happy sighs.

"Now this is coffee." Axton sighed happily. The roast with nice and warm with a bit if bitter. "But I bet you guys actually harvest it and not get it out of skag bile."

"Well, I'm positive you aren't from here since I've never heard of a skag." Ozpin replied before taking a sip of his drink.

"Nasty bastards. Like dogs, only their mouths open vertically, filled with teeth and have a whip tongue and the world's worst attitude." Gaige answered as she sipped her coffee, just the right amount of sweetness to counter the bitter.

"So, how did you get here?" Ironwood questioned. He wasn't so quick to believe the alien story just because they talk about such an odd creature.

"With this!" Salvador announced as he pulled the Vault Key from his storage. He snagged it from the ground before they started towards the town when they first arrived. "Went loco, turned black and made a field that sent us here."

"May I?" Ozpin questioned as he set his mug down and held out his hands. Salvador looked to everyone, most of them nodding. Zer0 kept still while Krieg simply twitched. He handed it off to Headmaster Ozpin, who turned with it towards General Ironwood and Winter. He questioned "Have either of you seen something like this before?"

"No, I haven't." Winter replied.

"Agreed, I've never seen anything like it." Ironwood added. The stone was just like theirs, but the veins in it seemed… alive with something they could never really hope to understand.

"Well, I would like to study it, with our visitor's permission of course." Ozpin suggested.

"We'll have to think on that one, sir." Axton proclaimed as he walked over to the group. "No offense, but we've just got here. Can't be certain who we can trust just yet."

"Listen here. This-." General Ironwood started. They had a piece of unknown alien technology, and these visitors wanted to keep it to themselves? Not a chance.

"Will be just fine. Thank you for allowing us to see it." Ozpin interrupted as he handed Axton back the Vault Key. The last thing he wanted to do was start an intergalactic war with an unknown species. Axton nodded and stashed the key into his inventory, happy that digistructing still worked. Ozpin continued "So, what shall we call you? You are clearly human."

"We're all human. Well, Maya is a Siren, so she's super human. And Zer0 is… Zer0." Axton responded as he drank from his cup again. "But, for simplicity, you can call us Vault Hunters."

"Vault Hunters? Sounds like there is a story to that. But, another time. For now, I welcome you to stay with us here at Beacon. I would like to pick your brain… so to speak. Share our cultures and learn from each other."

"Well, culture is a bit of a stretch, but I can agree to that. So long as brain picking stays in talk, not practice."

"Agreed. Please, head back down the elevator and I'll have someone meet you to show you to your accommodations."

"Well, thank you, Headmaster. This will be… an experience."

Maya, Axton and Gaige set their mugs down as the other three headed for the elevator. Once the doors were closed, and Ozpin sat at his desk, Ironwood slammed his fist onto Ozpin's desk.

"Oz, do you have any idea what you've just done?" Ironwood growled.

"I've started establishing relations with a new civilization, Vault Hunters of Pandora." Ozpin answered as he booted his computer back up.

"Oz, they could be here as scouts to wipe us out."

"If that were true, then why help Team RWBY and the town? Why not let them die?"

"I don't know… build trust? I just know that we shouldn't be so easily trusting with them."

"James, I know it seems like they have free reign, but believe me, they don't. I shall monitor them, and keep an eye their movements. We will see what their true intentions are."

O00000O00000O

The Vault Hunters rode the elevator down, thinking about the situation they were stuck in. They were on an alien world with no way of contacting the Crimson Raiders… but they'd been in worse.

"So, this is our plan?" Gaige sighed.

"Yeah, apologies if everyone doesn't agree." Axton apologized. It didn't seem like it was the best idea, but it was really the only idea they had.

"It was a fine plan. It will work for all of us. Very fine work, Ax." Zer0 replied, breaking his long silence.

"Thanks Zer0, at least I got someone on my side."

The doors opened for the Vault Hunters to see Ruby waiting on them, leaning against the wall looking at her scroll.

"Hey guys! I'm going to show you to where you'll be staying." Ruby cheered as she hopped off the wall. The Vault Hunters shrugged and simply followed her towards the dormitories, passing several whispering students glancing at them through the sides of their eyes. Ruby stopped in front of a door "Alright, guys in here, and girls across the hall. Breakfast at 7, lunch at noon and dinner at 6. There's common areas with T.V.s and couches and stuff. There's a library if you want to read and learn and the combat area is always open if you want to get some training in."

"Wow, you guys really have just about everything here. Is there an engineering bay?" Gaige questioned.

"Oh yeah. Got tons of tools and materials for whatever project you could think of."

"This place is awesome. I wanna live here."

"Very funny. Thanks Ruby… mind telling us why everyone is staring at us?" Maya questioned, feeling a little bit uncomfortable.

"Well… you guys are aliens. Most people never even considered the idea of aliens until you guys showed up. But, you guys are pretty cool. Feel free to explore." Ruby explained. She pulled out a piece of paper and a pen and wrote down her scroll number on it. She handed it to Gaige "Here, my scroll number if you guys get scrolls. That way we can talk and I can answer questions, or any of the rest of my team can."

"Thanks Rubes, you rock." Gaige exclaimed as she held out her normal hand for a fist bump. Ruby smirked and fist bumped Gaige with a chuckle.

"Hopefully I'll see you guys around." Ruby chuckled as she headed down the hall. The Vault Hunters hung out in the hallway for a second before they all went into the guys' room to see what they were set up with. It was a pretty large room with four beds on the sides of the room with a three shelved book case underneath a large window that overlooked the courtyard. There were four desks in the room, two on either side of the room and the other two on the wall with the door. There was a door to the left that was supposedly the closet.

"Wow, nice room. I could get used to this." Axton chuckled as he stepped deeper into the room. Everyone walked in and started checking out the room.

"So… what now?" Maya questioned.

"Figure out a way back? Fuck if I know, chica." Salvador chuckled as he started to look through the drawers of the dressers that sat between the beds. Zer0 went to the window, seeing that it was a great vantage point for him, but he also noticed the four devices that Ruby had in her hand.

"Scrolls." Zer0 announced as he picked one up. The guys grabbed theirs, except Krieg, who accidently grabbed his too hard and crushed it.

"GLASS BOX IS WORTHLESS!" Krieg barked as he speared the remains of his scroll onto the ground.

"We'll see if we can get you another one big guy." Gaige chuckled as he patted his back.

"Maya is right though. We do need to figure something out." Axton sighed as he sat on the bed he now claimed as his. "Right now… we just need to go with the flow of this place. Just stay low, maybe make a friend or two, and search for any kind of Eridian artifacts we can find. Maybe they'll react with the Vault Key."

"Sounds as good a plan as any." Gaige grumbled as she shrugged.

"Fine." Zer0 groaned as he poked at a bed, basically claiming it as his. Maya and Gaige nodded, going for their room and leaving the guys to theirs. Everyone sat quietly (or for Krieg as quietly as he could), just… accepting that they may be stuck here for quite some time… and have no idea on how to get back.

 **A/N:** There we go! Again, apologies for the long wait on a new chapter. Hopefully you enjoyed it. PM or review for any thoughts, comments or concerns about the chapter. Until next time!

-Chief


	4. Chapter 4: Explore the World

**A/N:** Heyo! Apologies for the wait. Life can get you busy sometimes and my days are only getting shorter. But anyway, NEW CHAPTER!

Chapter 4: Explore the World

Zer0 was the first one awake at 6:30 AM, his helmet's internal alarm clock going off and only alerting him. His helmet provided many functions, giving him his Head's Up Display as well as mission information and, of course, a simple clock. He was able to control the display on his helmet using his eyes for a cursor and a sub-vocal transmitter for 'voice' activation commands. It was everything that an assassin needed for covert operations, and for sneaking around without his friends being the wiser. He sat up, seeing Axton and Salvador bundled up in the sheets, happy to be using something that was covered in dirt and grime and… other things.

Krieg was sprawled out in his bed, leg and arm hanging off with the occasional spasm and loud grumble of somewhat coherent words. He slipped out of bed and made it, making it look like it wasn't slept in. He grabbed his scroll and headed out, hoping to explore the school a bit before students were filling the halls. He walked around, his footfalls staying quiet enough to keep the calm serenity of the early morning. He stopped when he noticed the large double doors that read "Bathrooms".

Zer0 tilted his head as he tried to discern which bathroom it was; male or female. He decided to investigate, slipping into Deception without leaving a holographic clone of himself, and slipped into the bathroom unseen, catching the door so it wouldn't make any sound as it closed. The bathroom seemed like a perfectly normal bathroom. There were two sides to the bathroom, one lined with sinks and mirrors on both sides and stalls at the far end; the other was lined with showers on both sides with curtains around them for some form of privacy and a large bench for placing things like clothes down the middle. He moved deeper into the shower section, still looking for any kind of sign of which gendered bathroom it was.

" _How strange. This must be a unisex bathroom. Never really saw any of them on the planets I went to."_ Zer0 thought as he pushed aside one of the curtains at the far end of the shower sections. The set up was simple, shower head with two knobs and a hook for hanging a shower caddy. He was about to leave when he heard the door open and close and conversation start to strike up. He immediately ducked into the shower stall, slightly hoping that whoever entered didn't choose that stall he was hiding in. Zer0 immediately recognized a voice as Yang Xiao Long.

"So, what do you think of our 'alien' friends?" Yang questioned, hearing her enter the shower section. He could hear her drop somethings on the bench as well someone else following, someone that walked with a quiet step. The next voice was immediately known as Blake Belladonna.

"They're very… interesting. Such a strange group of individuals." Blake replied. Zer0 decided to sit and wait to see what they had to say. It wasn't like he was peeping on them in the shower, merely sitting and gathering information on what the populous thought about the Vault Hunters. It never really hurt to have friends in places, especially when there seemed to be two sides to deal with concerning the Vault Hunters.

"No kidding. I don't know about Gaige and Ruby hanging out. I know Axton said that Gaige was a good kid, but still." Yang replied as she turned the water on.

"From what we've seen, they're not bad. Axton seems like a bit of a womanizer, Sal and Krieg seem insane, Maya and Gaige seem okay. Those two are the most… normal." Blake answered as another shower head turned on.

"What about Zer0?"

"He's a bit… disconcerting. With how little anyone knows about him, it's hard to form an opinion. He's quiet, so that's a bit of a plus."

"A plus?"

"Yeah, it means if he's around I could have company without being disturbed."

"You and your books. If you want company while reading, then ask Weiss."

Zer0 looked at the time on his helmet and saw that it was getting close to seven, when everyone else's alarms were about to go off. He carefully slipped from the shower stall while Yang and Blake's conversation went on.

"I'm curious about what is beneath that helmet of his, and what's with the way he talks?" Yang questioned. He simply shook his head and kept walking, noting the clothing that was left on the center bench as Blake responded.

"He speaks in haiku. A poem style in five-seven-five syllable pattern usually involving nature. And sometimes what's beneath is better beneath." Blake replied as Zer0 tilted his head. He noticed the ribbon that Blake used for her hair, it was pretty worn out in spots that shouldn't wear out from a simple bow.

"Well, sometimes you need to show what's beneath. You did with your cat ears." Yang replied. Zer0 tilted his head a little bit more hearing that. Cat ears? What was Blake? He carefully poked at the clothes, seeing if he could find any other clues to what Blake might be, only to find a simple school uniform. The only thing of note was that Blake wore some pretty frilly undergarments, black with purple lace. They seemed a bit… racy for normal wear. He shrugged and put everything back, slipping out of the bathroom and deactivating his invisibility.

He scratched at the bottom of his helmet, kinda like how one would with their chin… except he couldn't scratch his chin. He needed to research humans with animal attributes. He considered going to the library, but his stomach growled and he changed where he was going. Zer0 headed for the cafeteria to find something to eat, knowing breakfast was coming up. He found the cafeteria, seeing that it was more of a dining hall with a massive ceiling with full windows along the sides. There were a massive number of long tables with chairs going in columns of four from the end he stood on to the basic buffet line at the other.

Zer0 started walking towards the buffet, smelling the breakfast food being cooked. He noticed there were a few students in the mess hall, and one group had caught his interest. They were a set of guys, and all of them looked like they had a mean streak to them. They all wore the same uniform that Zer0 could only believe was the school's uniform. The guys were wearing a black coat with a white shirt and red complete with black pants and black shoes. The leader, or who Zer0 perceived as the leader, was large and bulky with lightish brown hair that was cut into a crew cut. The next was skinny and the smallest of the group with his head buzzed except for a blonde Mohawk. The third was pretty… average, like completely. Average build, average height with light brown hair in a normal hair cut with his hair combed to his left. The last was also average, except he had blue-gray hair that was slicked back and hung almost to his shoulders.

Zer0 watched as they approached a girl that was sitting alone, but she had something very different about her. She had long brown hair, but the biggest thing about her was that she had rabbit ears. He stopped as the guys surrounded the girl, her instantly sensing that she was in trouble.

"Hey there, Freak. See you still got the ears." The leader laughed as he stood by the rabbit girl. The other three around him simply laughed, all with evil smiles on their faces. The leader suddenly grabbed one of her rabbit ears and started to pull, earning a yelp from the girl.

"Ow! Cardin! Let go!" The girl cried in a bit of an Australian accent as her ears were pulled on. The rest of the group laughed as the one called Cardin continued to pull on her ears. Zer0 shook his head and sent his holographic clone walking forward while he went and slipped behind Cardin, drawing his Rex Jakobs revolver and placing it on the back of his head as he reappeared. The rest of the group jumped as Cardin froze, shaking a bit as he turned his head, eyes wide in fear.

"Release the rabbit, or I will pull the trigger. It is now your move." Zer0 warned as he pressed the barrel of revolver against Cardin's temple. Cardin immediately let go and the rabbit girl scurried behind him with tears in her eyes.

"Hey man, take it easy." Cardin practically pleaded as he fully turned around, slowly scooting back to his friends.

"Leave," Zer0 practically snarled. They were simply a bunch of bullies, and he didn't quite care of bullies. He barked "NOW!"

The group scrambled to get away from him, almost tripping over each other as they left the mess hall. Zer0 shook his head and holstered his revolver, turning back to rabbit girl as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Are you okay?" Zer0 questioned as he put a hand on her shoulder. He could see that she was easily shaken from the attack on her, since she flinched slightly at his touch.

"Yeah… I'll be fine…" The girl sniffed, wiping her nose on her sleeve. It hurt him to see an, admittedly, cute girl in such distress. She took a deep breath and sighed, looking at him with a smile and introducing "My name is Velvet, Velvet Scarlatina. Thank you. What's your name?"

"Zer0."

"Just… Zer0?"

"Yes."

"Alright."

Velvet took a seat back at her meal as Zer0 continued to the buffet, grabbing some scrambled eggs, sausage and toast with a glass of milk. He took a seat on the opposite side of the table Velvet was sitting at as she was about a quarter of the way through her bowl of cereal. She looked up with a raised eye brow as Zer0 stared (or what she could consider a stare with the helmet he was wearing) in her direction.

"Are you going to take your helmet off?" Velvet questioned as she scooped up some of her frosted corn flakes.

"Yes." Zer0 stated plainly.

"Alright…" Velvet looked down and scooped her cereal in her mouth with a bit of a sigh, her ears a bit sore from Cardin yanking on them. Velvet questioned as she looked up "So, are you one of the al… iens?"

Her question trailed off as she saw Zer0 place his half glass of milk down, a few bites of his eggs and toast missing as well as a sausage link gone. Velvet looked in disbelief as Zer0 burped slightly and patted his chest.

"Did… you take your helmet off?" Velvet questioned, extremely confused about what she missed. Zer0 answered with his emoticon function on his helmet to keep it simple, displaying a question mark on his helmet. Velvet simply shook her head and continued eating her breakfast. Both were nearly done when two more of the Vault Hunters shuffled into the mess hall, Axton and Gaige. They were wearing the same clothes they did the previous day, mainly because they didn't have any other clothes they could wear. They went to the buffet, grabbed the same thing as Zer0, except they grabbed cups of coffee, and joined the two at the table.

"Morning Z." Axton grumbled before taking a sip of his coffee. Gaige proceeded to put a blasphemous amount of cream into her coffee before drinking hers with a happy sigh.

"Hello, I'm Velvet." She greeted, giving them a small wave as the two looked at her.

"You have rabbit ears. That's adorable." Gaige commented after taking another sip of coffee.

"Um, thanks?"

"So, why do you have rabbit ears?" Axton commented before starting to shovel food into his mouth.

"It's because I'm a Faunus." Velvet responded with a raised eyebrow. She was a bit confused since she was sure they had to have seen some other Faunus when they arrived.

"So, are you like a person with a mutation? Or a different species altogether?"

"Different species."

"Do they work? Like, is your hearing better than a normal person's?"

"Yes, they do and yes it is."

"Ah, cool."

The rest of them sat and at as more people slowly filed into the mess hall, the rest of the Vault Hunters as well as Team RWBY joining them at their table. Everyone ate and chatted until it was time for the students to start their classes, leaving the Vault Hunters at the table to figure out what to do with their day.

"I think we should go explore the city." Maya suggested. The city looked gorgeous and she wanted to see as much as she could.

"We should probably also look for ways to make some cash." Axton pointed out as he wrapped his fingers against the tables. Luckily for them, an answer presented itself. Headmaster Ozpin strolled over to them, cane in one hand and coffee mug in the other.

"Good Morning, Vault Hunters. Any plans for the day?"

"Nothing yet, senior." Salvador answered.

"Well, I do have something that I need a bit of help with occupying your time, plus it may have some interest in your… situation." Ozpin answered before sipping from his mug. All of the Vault Hunters looked at each other with raised eyebrows, very interested in what he had for them.

"Whatcha got for us?"

"There is a shipment of Dust arriving at the docks tonight, but the local police are stretched thin with all of the current events. So, the Schnee Dust Company requested some assistance from us before hiring private security. Does that sound like something you would be interested in?"

"Two questions. Will we get paid? And do we need lethal or non-lethal?"

"Yes, you will be getting paid, and quite well. It would be preferred if you kept the casualties to a minimum, but if you must, then use lethal force."

"We'll take it. Just let us know where to go."

"Of course. I'll be giving all of you scrolls, the communication devices of our world, so you may stay in contact with everyone."

"Sounds good."

Ozpin nodded and left, leaving the Vault Hunters in the Mess Hall to figure out what to do with the rest of their day.

"What next?" Zer0 questioned with a question mark emoticon.

"Well, we should probably start researching this world. We'll do a group info share when we head out for the mission. We need damn near everything. World layout, any groups causing problems, creatures causing issues and anything in between." Axton answered.

"Do we really need all that info?" Gaige questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, we do. We have no idea how long we're going to be there, so we may as well figure out everything we possibly can. We need to be prepared for anything that could possibly happen."

All of the Vault Hunters nodded and pondered what they were going to be doing. The whole world was new and strange… alien. There were combination weapons, animal people and smoke monsters made of pure evil. For all they knew, Corporations could hold the planet hostage like it did on Pandora and no one really questioned it or tried to fight back. For the purpose of survival… they were on their own.

 **A/N:** Sorry for the long wait, but here is the new chapter! We've got a bit of an off shoot from the original, but it's definitely going to be good. PM or review with any thoughts, comments or concerns. Until next time!

-Chief


	5. Chapter 5: The Fang

**A/N:** Heyo! So sorry for taking so long to bring out the new chapters. Just got married and moved into a new home, so everything is in a bit of a cluster. Since everything is starting to slow down, I'm finding more time to write. Anyway, NEW CHAPTER!

Chapter 5: The Fang

The Vault Hunters went to the male room to get themselves ready for the mission they were getting ready to head off for. This was their first mission on Remnant, and it was apparently for a large scale corporation. Axton, Zer0 and Maya were tasked with researching their client and their suspected adversary while Krieg and Salvador checked their weapons and finally Gaige was working a bit on Deathtrap.

Axton had searched the Schnee Dust Company, and ultimately had to search on what Dust exactly was. First off, Dust: It was a naturally occurring element on Remnant that seemed to react with a person's aura, creating an elemental reaction depending on the Dust. The people of Remnant used this stuff for just about everything from basic power all the way up to weaponizing it and using it like gunpowder. The one major drawback was that it didn't work beyond the planet's atmosphere, so space travel was basically nonexistent. Axton explained it to the group to all of their amazement.

"Wow, that's some pretty cool stuff. Kinda like our weapons, except our stuff works in space." Gaige commented as she cleaned some gunk off of one of DT's power actuators. The poor bot had been through so much, but now she could use some new parts and give him a proper cleaning in an actually clean environment.

"Yeah, no one is really sure why the stuff doesn't work the atmosphere, so we can only really use the stuff while we're here. Tons of theories... maybe it has something to do with the planet? Either way, we should look into Remnant weapons to save ammo for our own weapons." Axton pointed out. Sure, they could still use their personal digistuct packs with all of their ammo, but that would only last so long. Plus, just going from the weapons they saw, they might be getting a bit of an upgrade since the weapons here were almost as insane as the ones on Pandora.

"Nice work. So I've been looking into some things on the White Fang." Maya pointed out. She was the one that was in charge of learning about the potential threat they face. So far, it was an interesting subject depending on who you asked. Maya explained "One side of the argument for the White Fang is that they're faunus freedom fighters dedicated to creating equal rights for faunus and going after businesses that either abuse faunus labor or outright deny them service."

"Sounds more like terrorists if you ask me." Salvador chuckled as he loaded up his assault rifle.

"That's the other side. Most people just see them as terrorists that are waging war on humans. Apparently they used to be a more peaceful movement, boycotts and protests and the like. Then there seems to have been a drastic change because that's when they started vandalizing, and eventually, straight up attacking businesses. The SDC is currently their number one target since they have a tendency to abuse faunus labor like deplorable and unsafe work conditions and pretty dirt pay."

"Shit... does this make us the bad guys for working for them?" Gaige questioned as she started to shut Deathtrap up. The last thing she wanted to do was start working for a corporation that treated its people like garbage and just killed anyone in the way... just like Hyperion.

"I mean... it's super gray right now. But knowing that does make me feel a bit sleazy." Axton grumbled as he put away his scroll since Maya hit on everything he was going to say. He took a deep breath and groaned "Until we can find some more stable work, this is the best chance we get."

"Just doing a job. Don't think too much into it. We are getting paid." Zer0 stated, breaking his silence as he closed his scroll. This was just another job, just some more targets and some new kind of currency. He usually looked for the targets, but this time they were coming to him so it was just a little bit easier. Gaige and Axton clearly had some reservations about working with such a... morally gray company, but that was mainly due to their own experience with Hyperion. He was sure that Maya and Salvador had similar thoughts, and Krieg was simply Krieg and wanted to kill something.

"Zer0 is right. We are just here to defend some shipping containers, not go on an extermination mission of the White Fang. Just focus on what's in front of us." Axton said as he started checking his rifle.

Everyone worked in relative silence after that, the only other real sound was the idle, mindless chit chat until it was time to go. They boarded a small airship than the one they first arrived on, this one being more like a drop ship for small military units. They arrived pretty quickly, meeting with current security team just before sundown. Axton was chosen as the group representative and spoke with the captain, getting the basic layout of everything. Their job was easy; protect the shipment from everything until dawn when the crew arrived to distribute it. The previous team left, giving the Vault Hunters free reign over the area.

"Alright, this seems pretty simple." Axton declared as the sun fully set, leaving just the orange glow while night began to truly descend upon them. "Gaige, I want you in the control deck. I want eyes and lights on everything. Kreig and Salvador, you're Team B. I want you to patrol the areas, focusing on the warehouses and docking areas. Maya, you and I are Team A. we're going to focus on the container areas and make sure no one is hiding out inside camera blind spots. Zer0, get on a rooftop and spot whatever Gaige can't see. Sound like a plan?"

Everyone nodded and separated into their teams as night fully encased them. Axton knew nothing would happen just as night descended, so he had everyone in more of a relaxed patrol. The real action wouldn't come until later in the night, like around 11 when Zer0 caught some movement. He had perched himself on a large loading crane that gave him almost the entire layout of the shipping yard. He just barely caught the movement as he neared the area. He went to his scroll and voiced his findings to the group.

"I can see movement, northwest container section. Don't know who they are." Zer0 radioed as he started looking for where they could have gone.

"Gaige, do you have anything?" Axton radioed as he and Maya started running for the section in question. He figured they would bring in a truck or ship of some kind, but this may have just been a scouting force first.

"Nothing. They're hitting the camera blind spots. This might be the White Fang since they're avoiding being caught." Gaige responded as she jumped through the cameras. Whoever they were, they came with knowledge of the cameras, so there was no way it could be a random coincidence. She could see Axton and Maya about halfway when something caught the light a few canisters down from them. "Ax, Maya, take a right, go for two container blocks then a left. You should head them off."

Axton and Maya immediately took her directions, both of them charging their weapons since it was time for them to get serious. Axton was ahead of Maya and prepared to unload as they met the unknown group at the same time. He was so preoccupied with taking the unknown individual on, he failed to notice the bright golden hair of the person he shoulder checked the living shit out of. He slammed them into the container and was immediately met with a hard right hook that felt he was hit with a baseball bat. Maya lowered her weapon as she got a good look at the intruder.

"Yang? what are you doing here?" Maya questioned as she put her drawn Maliwan SMG on her hip. Axton was leaning on a container corner rubbing his jaw as Yang got up from the ground, brushing herself off.

"What am I doing here? What are you doing here?" Yang questioned in response as she cross her arms in front of her.

"Working. We've been hired to protect the shipments that are here."

"Okay... makes sense. Hang on." Yang replied as she pulled out her scroll. She initiated a group call with the rest of her team, who was entering at different points of the shipping yard. "Guys, its the aliens pulling security. No real need to sneak around anymore."

Ruby, Blake and Weiss all responded and everyone agreed to meet up at the control center, Zer0 electing to remain on the crane just in case there were more unwelcome guests. Axton groaned and grumbled the whole time about his jaw hurting, to which Yang mocked him for being such a baby.

"You didn't have to swing so hard." Axton groaned as he, Maya and Yang started the climb up. The tower was almost identical to an air traffic controller tower with four stations that looked the same. There were three screens set up above a keyboard and multiple switches and dials. Gaige had turned several of the screens into the security monitors that covered nearly 95% of the shipping yard.

"You didn't have to tackle me either, so I guess we're even." Yang chuckled as she took a seat in one of the chairs that went with the desks. Everyone else made it to the tower within a few minutes, Maya opening a call with Zer0 so he could listen in while still keeping an eye on the place.

"So, what are you four doing here?" Axton asked, trying to get to the bottom of why four high schoolers were infiltrating a shipping yard.

"There was word that the White Fang might be showing up here. We came here to try and stop them!" Ruby declared with gusto. Her team and their friends had been working hard to try and stop or slow down the White Fang's actions. Team RWBY knew they were up to something big, and they weren't going to sit around and wait to find out what they were planning.

"THE LITTLE ONE SHALL TAKE ON THE SCARY ANIMAL MEN!" Krieg barked, causing Team RWBY to jump and Zer0 to wince away from his scroll a bit.

"We've been dealing with them since last year. We caught them stealing from this shipping yard early last year and they had set up a staging area in Mountain Glenn just a few months ago. They are planning something bigger, but we don't know what just yet." Blake explained. Sure, they were told to not get involved with the White Fang while the adults handled it, but nothing seemed to be getting done.

"So, a group venture to take down a terrorist organization? Sounds pretty action movie hero-ish. Love it!" Gaige cheered as she spun in her chair. It was pretty kickass that they were waging a small war against the organization that seemed like it wanted all humans dead.

"Don't you think you're taking on quite a bit? You're still just in school." Maya pointed out as she leaned against the computer desks.

"The White Fang aren't going to wait until we graduate to initiate their plans. This isn't something we can just ignore... we have to do something." Ruby pointed out.

Everyone nodded in agreement, the Vault Hunters seeing exactly what they were talking about. If they could do something to at least slow them down, why shouldn't they take it? It wasn't like the White Fang were going to get picky with their targets so long as they were human. The conversation would have continued, except Zer0 made an observation and called it out to everyone.

"Airship, incoming." Zer0 announced. He had spotted it heading towards the shipping docks, but waited until he was sure that it was heading for them to point it out. He saw everyone rush out of the control center as the airship hovered over a relatively empty space with a search light going off. Zer0 immediately threw up his invisibility as the light passed over him quickly, staring down the scope and waiting for an opportunity.

"Remember, hold fire until fired upon. I'll see if I can get them to turn around. Probably won't work, but I've got to try." Axton reminded as he left the cover of the containers as the airship started to set down. The ramp on the bottom opened up and several individuals in white pants with white vests and a silver metal face plate exited with rifles drawn, all of them pointed on Axton. He simply approached with his hands up and a look of resignation that screamed he did not want to be in this position. Axton counted 10 individuals on him with another 10 leaving the airship with cables, more than likely to hook up containers and fly off with them. One more exited the airship that seemed like he was in charge. He wore the same outfit as the others, only his mask had red vine decorations on it like it was some symbol of rank and he had short blonde hair with weird horns that curved back from the top of his head.

The guy also carried a large claymore blade on his back, so Axton knew he was ready to fight up close and personal. The leader approached Axton and stood ust about two feet away and stared him down. Axton took a moment to examine the plate more, seeing that it was initially a simple mask that had a small crevice that went along the nose area, pointing out that it probably came in two pieces with two eye slits that had some blackout material so Axton couldn't stare directly into his eyes. There as silence for quite a long time before Axton finally spoke.

"So how does this work? I talk first? You talk first?" Axton questioned since his arms were getting a bit tired from holding them up. The leader simply held up a single finger, Axton shooting him a look that just screamed 'seriously?'. the leader looked Axton up and down and finally spoke in a voice pretty similar to his own.

"You don't look like the normal guards that are here. Who are you?" The leader questioned since the shabby, scruffy man before him held no similarity to the usual clean and proper guards the SDC employed.

"Independent Contractor. We gave some easier rates than the last guys." Axton chuckled, making a joke about the situation. This apparently was the wrong thing to say as the leader suddenly grabbed his collar and lifted him a bit.

"You think the plight of my people is a joke? That the SDC gets rich off of exploiting my people? Is that funny to you?" The leader snarled as he pulled Axton close.

"Look, buddy, I feel you on the SDC. They guys seem like real assholes, but I can't just let you steal the stuff. I gotta eat, and this is one of the things that I'm good at. So... where does that leave us?"

The leader released Axton, pushing him a bit as he walked away. He watched the other members start to hook up some of the containers, thinking about what to do with Axton.

"If you are not with us... then you are against us." The leader declared as he turned back to Axton, the other White Fang raising their rifles at him. Axton merely sighed as he lowered his hands down to his shoulders."

"I tried to be civil... then you throw that dumbass logic at me. Oh well... NOW!" Axton sighed, then shouted as he grabbed his turret box and dropped it at his feet. The White Fang would have open fired on him, but everyone else that had been sneaking around the staging area suddenly open fired and caused everyone to suddenly duck and go for cover. The bubble shield Axton had on his turret stopped the friendly bullets from hitting hip while he drew his own rifle and started firing on the White Fang. It was utter chaos as rounds few everywhere from both friendly and foe as the bullets ricocheted off of the containers. Salvador charged a trio of White Fang that had been hooking up containers, but took cover as the shooting started. He leveled his twin Vladof spinguns and unloaded on them before they even knew they were under fire. They took quite a few rounds, their auras or shields or whatever took a lot of bullets before tearing through them and turning them into hamburger.

"Now _this_ is a fight!" Salvador cheered as he moved on. He hopped onto the containers and started to shoot apart the cables that were already hooked up, eventually severing them and freeing the container they were supposed to be protecting. After that he turned and started showering the battle field with bullets, either striking the enemy shields or forcing them to take some kind of cover.

Zer0 was still on the crane, taking a few auras down or taking a few heads off as he sniped from his perch. He looked away from his scope and saw two more airships flying towards them, and he could only hypothesize that they were White Fang reinforcements. Zer0 updated "Enemy Incoming."

Maya had taken cover at the farthest container block and was merely using suppressing fire when one of the airships flew over her and was prepared to set down right behind her. She covered her face from the engines kicking up so much dust while the spotlight turned on around her. Maya made a quick decision and used her Phase Lock on the left engine, putting more power into it than normal and nearly crushing the engine into a scrap block. Luckily, it was just enough to throw off the airship, causing it to falter and spin a bit before crashing into a docking area where, luckily, there was no ship. Maya immediately got out of there as the airships loader hatches opened and more White Fang started to pour out like homicidal ants after kicking their nest. She took cover from the weapon's fire around a corner and she knew she couldn't just abandon that fight without others getting dragged into it.

Maya acted quickly and drew her Hyperion singularity grenade, tossing it pretty hard and landing it just in front of the mob that was developing. The White Fang jumped aside, but when the grenade went off they were dragged straight towards it since the grenade created a singularity that pulled everyone towards it just before it exploded. A few of the Fang didn't survive the explosion, but some of the others were pretty hurt, to which Maya open fired and put them out of their misery.

Gaige was jumping along the top of some of the containers, chasing several of the White Fang that had Ruby right on their tail. Gaige started blasting at the White Fang with her Bandit SMG, the bullets bouncing wildly from the container itself, but also her own 'Close Enough' skill that caused her bullets to bounce off the Containers and floor itself. Ruby started firing Crescent Rose and knocking some of them onto the ground, where they were torn up by Gaige's bullets. the group they were chasing were torn apart very quickly, but another group had jumped up onto the containers and started shooting at Gaige, forcing her to jump down and avoid anymore shots to her already weakened shield.

"Fuck! They've got us pinned!" Gaige barked as she started shooting back at them. She reloaded once her gun clicked empty and barked "you know what? To hell with the first law!"

Gaige threw her arm up while looking at the White Fang, summoning Deathtrap directly behind them. None of them noticed until he grabbed one of the members, and proceeded to hurl him backwards, the scream catching their attention. The remaining three turned and started unloading on the floating bot, but did nothing since Deathtrap was more accustomed to getting hit with harder weapons. Deathtrap swung his clawed hand and sent one White Fang member into the container, their Aura absorbing most of the blow, but Deathtrap finished him off by driving his claws straight through them. The last two saw this and decided that was enough for them and tried to run, but Deathtrap reared his head back and fired his laser beam and turned one of them to ash. The last one would have gotten away, but Ruby had used her semblance to shoot in front of them and swung her scythe, throwing them hard into the container next to them.

Zer0 was taking the easy route and supported Blake once again with his rifle since she was dueling quite a few White Fang members. She started to clash blades with two of the members while another tried to slice through her back, but luckily she had Zer0 watching over her. He aimed for the weapon and easily shot the weapon out of their hand, the White Fang grabbing their hand, but didn't last long as he put another bullet straight through their head, his B0re skill clearly carrying over to Remnant. He watched her deflect blades and slam her twin blades against the White Fang's members Auras, admitting to himself that he enjoyed watching her fight. She moved like a river flowed, graceful and fluid as her weapons swung in unison as it knocked weapons away and started to cut into the terrorists. He wondered what it would be like to fight her since she was clearly skilled in deceiving combat.

Blake jumped back, using her semblance to leave behind an after image of herself to drop her opponent's guard, and flew forward to strike at her unsuspecting target. She could hear Zer0's rifle cracking and hearing bodies drop just behind her, thankful that he had her back even from this distance.

The leader saw that they were losing the fight and snarled as he grabbed the radio from his belt and gave out his order.

"Pull back! We're out matched here! Pull-." He barked before the radio was shot out of his hand. He turned to see the big one lumbering towards him with a pistol in one hand and some weird ax in the other. The leader saw that a fight was inevitable, so he drew his claymore and took a fighting stance.

"ROUND 1! FIGHT!" Krieg bellowed as he charged the leader, buzz ax in one hand as he started shooting the pistol wildly. His somewhat intent was to throw off the leader's fighting stance, but his Bandit pistol missed horribly and the leader didn't budge at all. He dumped his pistol and jumped with his ax raised, bringing it down as the leader brought the blade up and blocked the blow like it was a shield. He pushed Krieg off and swung his blade, slamming hard into Krieg's shield and pushing him back. Krieg slid and swung his axe again, giving his iconic pyscho war cry of "Strip the flesh! Salt the wound!"

Krieg was unrelenting in his swings, forcing the leader to stay defensive as sparks flew from the buzz saw clashing against the metal of the blade. The leader was starting to worry as he was forced back, the behemoth was advancing on him at a horrifying speed and showed no signs of slowing down from swing after swing. Sadly, the rear advancing ended as his back hit a container, catching him off guard that lowered his defense enough for Krieg to knock the blade away and start attacking his exposed body. Krieg swung again and again and again, pounding his aura until it broke and his Meat Bicycle found meat, slicing his chest and spraying blood everywhere. Krieg dropped his axe and grabbed the leader by the front of his chest and held him up.

"I'M GOING TO HORUS YOU!" Krieg roared as he held the leader up over his head, dropping him horizontally over his knee. There was a sickening cracking sound as the remaining airships turned and left with no containers and a severely reduced crew. Krieg stood up and let the leader's body drop, looking down as his head twitched. His Inner Voice grumbled sadly _"I'm sorry, but we tried to let you go... to let you live. This was your choice."_

Everyone rallied up while Axton went and grabbed the leader's scroll, checking it out until it started to ring. He answered it to a gruff voice that seemed annoyed.

"What's going on?! Why are you retreating without that Dust!?" The voice snarled.

"Um... probably since he's dead. Sorry about your people, but they fired first." Axton sighed as he walked back to the group, letting everyone listen in.

"So... they're dead..."

"Yep. Dead as dead can be. So, what's so important about these containers?"

"That's none of your business. I swear, you will pay for the lives you have taken!"

"Whatever pal, good luck." Axton sighed as he hung up on the guy. He just tossed it onto the ground, pulled out his pistol and shot the scroll. He kept his pistol pointed at the remains of the scroll and groaned "I probably shouldn't have done that..."

"Why did you do that!?" Weiss barked, trying to figure out Axton's thought process. They could have pulled information from that! Locations, scroll numbers, possible plans and more and he just shot it!

"I... thought it would be cool?" Axton suggested as he put his pistol away. Almost everyone groaned and shook their heads as Weiss threw her hands into the air, unable to comprehend Axton. He sighed "Well, looks like we have some fun stuff to tell the oncoming crew. For the four of you, get back to Beacon. We'll talk more about this in the morning."

Team RWBY nodded and were about to leave when Gaige shouted and pointed at one of the containers the White Fang tried to steal. Everyone turned and looked to see something that all of the Vault Hunters recognized immediately: Eridium. There were ingots of the stuff falling out of the container, the box they were stored in broken from who knows what destruction that occured.

"Why... does you planet... have Eridium?" Maya questioned out loud while everyone was deathly quiet.

 **A/N:** Ta da! The newest chapter of Vault of Vytal! Sorry for taking so long, but I've got the fever and the only cure is writing! You know the drill; PM or review for any thoughts comments or concerns. Until next time!

-Chief.


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